Good apps for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet

Samsung has packed some good hardware in the Note 8.0, and it needs good software to take advantage of it. The apps in this collection are road tested and work well on the Note 8.0.

These apps will work on any Android tablet, but those that use the Note 8.0 S Pen won't have all the functionality as they do on the Note.

The Galaxy Note 8.0 can run two apps at the same time and have them share the display. There is a bonus image showing a productive use of the multi-view display.

The home screen above is running the Beautiful Widgets Live wallpaper that shows the current weather condition and time of day in a great animated fashion. It is part of the Beautiful Widgets app available in the Play Store.

Papyrus -- note-taking app extraordinaire

The Galaxy Note 8.0 is a good tool for taking notes on the fly, especially using the S Pen. Samsung has included a simple note app (S Note) but Papyrus leverages all the benefits of that pen.

Notes can be written naturally using the pen, and Papyrus has features to make it easy. While using the S Pen to write notes, the app makes it possible to erase content using just a fingertip. No need to find the eraser tool in the menu when you make a mistake, all you need to do is rub errors out with a fingertip.

Papyrus recognizes mult-touch gestures, such as pinch/zoom and two-finger scrolling.

News360

This is a news aggregator that lets you configure topics of interest and then builds you an attractive news magazine. The app learns what you like the more you use it and in a short time pulls news and blog posts that appeal to you.

The app's name stems from how News360 works. It pulls multiple sources for a given story to give you a "360 degree" view of the news you liike.

Mindjet for Android

You either understand the benefits of mind maps or you don't; if so you should check out Mindjet for Android. This app from the producers of one of the best mindmapping programs ever written, MindManager, is full-featured and works well on the 8-inch screen of the Note 8.0.

The graphical mind maps can use text and graphics in the topic boxes and have links to supporting documents.

Mindjet works with Dropbox to keep your maps in the cloud and can produce MindManager files for use with the desktop verson.

NOTE: I previously used Thinking Space Pro which has "merged" with Mindjet and is no longer available.

Published: May 22, 2013 -- 10:55 GMT (03:55 PDT)

Caption by: James Kendrick

Polaris Office

This office suite is preinstalled on the Galaxy Note 8.0 and it is a solid performer. It is compatible with Microsoft Office documents, although complex formatting may not be handled properly. Basic Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents are handled fine and the 8-inch tablet is particularly suited for editing.

In addition to the Office document handling, Polaris can also work with PDF files.

Press Reader

Those who like the newspapers of yesteryear but who don't appreciate all the paper those require and the ink-stained fingers they cause should check out this app. Press Reader lets you subscribe to favorite newspapers from a vast global library. The papers are presented just like the actual print editions, ads and all, and the app makes it easy to move around the paper. The reading experience in Press Reader is surprisingly similar to that of paper newspapers.

Wifi Analyzer

Using the Galaxy Note 8.0 is a better experience if you have a good wi-fi network. This utility scans all networks in the area and graphically presents them to make it easy to find one with the greatest strength and less traffic.

Plume

While the folks at Twitter have improved the official app, this client is superb on the Galaxy Note 8.0. It is fully customizable to suit every user and the multiple columns displayed in landscape is a great way to use Twitter.

Plume supports Twitter lists and lets you add them as additional columns that can be scrolled into view when needed.

Twit.TV

The Twit network produced by Leo Laporte has fantastic programming that covers a wide range of tech topics. Shows can be streamed live or viewed later with this app that is designed to make it easy to watch Twit.TV.

Pocket Informant

If you spend a lot of time working with PIM data, contacts, calendar, tasks, and notes, then Pocket Informant is for you. The app aggregates all of those functions into one place and can sync with a wide variety of online networks.

The app is fully customizable, almost dauntingly so, to make all of the standard data views just right. In addition to calendar, contacts, and task views, Pocket Informant has a useful Today view that aggregates onto one screen all information that is pertinent for the current day.

DoggCatcher

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is great for listening to podcasts, and DoggCatcher is a great way to do so. Once you subscribe to the podcasts of interest, the app downloads new episodes when they appear and handles playback simply. You can incrementally speed up the playback to get through long podcasts is much less time.

DoggCatcher has a good library of podcasts to help you find what you like, and you can search for specific shows right in the app.

In addition to handling podcasts nicely, the app can handle RSS news feeds, too. I've never used it for that, preferring to use it as my podcast app of choice.

Flipboard

This app originally appeared on iOS and has now evolved on Android so the current app is top-notch. Flipboard builds a news magazine based on your preferences. The 8-inch display of the Note 8.0 is perfect for flipping through lots of content in Flipboard.

A nice feature is the ability to add your Twitter timeline and Facebook news feed to Flipboard. Flipping through updates from friends is enjoyable on the Note 8.0.

Google+

The social network from Google is worth mentioning in this collection as using the app on the Galaxy Note 8.0 is very nice. The animation effects used by the app are great on the fast Note 8.0 and it's a great experience using Google+.

This app is so good on the Note 8.0 I am using Google+ more than I have in the past.

Bonus- My favorite multi-view usage

The multi-view feature is extremely useful on the Galaxy Note 8.0, as having two apps running side-by-side is fantastic. There are a lot of apps that can be run in multi-view mode, and this screen shows two of my favorites.

I do a lot of research on the web for my work, and having the Chrome browser on one side of the screen and the Papyrus note app on the other is wonderful. I can jot notes with the pen in Papyrus while bouncing all over the web for my research.

Good apps for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0

The 8-inch screen on the Note 8.0 is the perfect size to take advantage of portability while displaying lots of information. These apps work well on the Note 8.0 and should run well on other Android tablets.

Read More

Papyrus -- note-taking app extraordinaire

The Galaxy Note 8.0 is a good tool for taking notes on the fly, especially using the S Pen. Samsung has included a simple note app (S Note) but Papyrus leverages all the benefits of that pen.

Notes can be written naturally using the pen, and Papyrus has features to make it easy. While using the S Pen to write notes, the app makes it possible to erase content using just a fingertip. No need to find the eraser tool in the menu when you make a mistake, all you need to do is rub errors out with a fingertip.

Papyrus recognizes mult-touch gestures, such as pinch/zoom and two-finger scrolling.